GRAND RAPIDS,MI – Hot Chelle Rae is the headlining band of the upcoming Party in the Park concert at Fifth Third Ballpark on Wednesday, July 23. The band’s founder and lead singer Ryan Follesé recently was cruising through Palo Alto, California, talking to me on his cell phone about the upcoming concert.

“In life we just try to have fun and we want our music to translate how we live and who we are,” Follesé said. “Even though they are just catchy pop songs, I feel like it comes across as an honest representation of how we live.”

Follesé does most of the songwriting and said the lyrics at times “very accurately describe different things that have happened to us on tour. For the most part, you can tie down every lyric to a something that’s happened in our lives.”

“Our last album took us to more places than we even dreamed possible,” he said. “When you’re on the road for two years, you learn and different things evolve. We’ve done a lot of living but it’s still very, very fun.”

Hot Chelle Rae is a family affair as Ryan’s brother Jamie plays the drums. Lead guitarist Nash Overstreet rounds out the core members of the Tennessee-based band, which also once included bassist Ian Keaggy. Follesé said Keaggy left the band to pursue solo work and they remain friends.

A long road tour with family might make things more difficult for some, but for Follesé it’s been a benefit.

“Jamie and I are five years apart,” he said. “I was more of a role model and parent to him growing up and as we got older and he started playing, we just became closer. The longer we are out on tour the closer we are. I can’t imagine doing anything musically without him.”

The band is touring in support of its highly successful album “Whatever,” which featured singles “I Like It Like That,” “Honestly,” and the chart-topping “Tonight Tonight.” The band was recognized as the American Music Association's Best New Artist in 2011 and is releasing a third studio album, “Reckless,” later this year.

It’s been difficult but rewarding keeping a busy tour schedule while trying to find time to record the upcoming album, Follesé said. Part of the reward has been the packed shows they play around the world.

He recounted an appearance in Melbourne, Australia, where the noise from the audience resembled an earthquake.

“When there’s a moment of silence where there’s that extra beat before the audience starts to cheer and fills that silence, that’s one of the most rewarding feelings. The crowd in Melbourne felt like an earthquake,” he said. “It turns out they were simultaneously stomping their feet on a wooden floor. It was overwhelming.”

A fun backstage ritual the band employs is something they learned from another successful band, The Script. Along with vocal warm-ups, stretching and a prayer, the bandmates shake hands and take a shot of bourbon.

“No matter what we are going through in our personal lives, we look each other in the eye, shake each other’s hands, and leave everything behind because when we take the stage, we have to give the audience the best show we can give them. We also always have a little bit of whiskey before taking the stage.”

When I asked how the prayer and bourbon go hand in hand, Follesé laughed and said, “Well, we are from the South.”

Hot Chelle Rae will be joined at Fifth Third Ballpark by musical acts The Kongos, Outasight, Katy Tiz and My Crazy Girlfriend. The concerts are presented by Cumulus radio station 105.3 HOT FM and start at 6 p.m. General admission tickets are $10.05 with box seating and field seating costs $25-$39. Tickets are available at the Fifth Third Ballpark box office, by phone at 616-784-4131, or online at 1053hotfm.com. Parking is $8. More details at fifththirdballpark.com.